I was watching the programme on the television and I realised that many people fail to see the real issues surrounding an invention. They also become so absorbed by their idea that they begin to believe that it is perfect and go into denial about any issues about it. They do not want to hear about any problems with it and refuse to listen to experts when they discuss it. At the heart of this is the problem that most people don’t realise that ideas are often only the seed and they must fully develop the idea before they invest in it.
Here are some pointers as to what makes an idea a BIG idea:
- It must meet the needs of the person who is going to pay for it. By way of example, one of the contestants on the show had a cardboard shape that people would take out of their pocket, or handbag in the case of women, unfold it and place it over the keys of an ATM (Automatic Teller Machine) in order to prevent others from seeing the buttons that you are pressing. The question is “will someone pay for it?” I think not for several reasons: (1) people will find it easier to use their hand to shield the other; (2) People can cut out a piece of cardboard from their cornflakes box and make one themselves; and (3) People take fashion into consideration and are very self-conscious and they might not feel so cool unfolding one of these to extract a few quid from the ATM. People may want these but they must feel that they really need it – their hand covers the keys quite adequately.
- It must offer benefits that have value to the buyer. People assess products and services by assessing the value that they bring. This might not necessarily be fully at the conscious level but certainly at the unconscious level.
- It should make life easier or simpler for the end users. For example the little frame that is used to show a builder where to cut an opening in a plaster board for a socket without having to use a measuring tape. Virtually eliminates errors that everybody makes from time to time when using a measuring tape.
- It must be profitable. Your idea must be manufactured, distributed, marketed, and sold with a profit for all parties involved. Try to determine whether money can be made from your idea by assessing how much people would be willing to pay for it. This is not as simple as you may at first think because asking people straight out “what are you willing to pay?” is fraught with difficulty.
- It must be different from what is already out there already. Differentiation means that your invention must be sufficiently different from all other inventions on the market. So much so, that its benefits are clearly visible to the purchaser and the benefits must also be clearly visible on the packaging.
- The performance of your invention must be superior to what is already on the market. Your product must outperform its competitor’s offerings or else it is not the best on the market. I think this point speaks for itself.
The key is to evaluate your ideas and keep generating new ideas – as many as you possibly can. Do not give up. Keep persevering and keep learning as much as you can about inventing, intellectual property, marketing, finance, new product development and design. And especially, you must learn as much as you can about the type of product you are trying to invent. In other words, if you are trying to invent a new type of blind for a window, then become an expert in blinds for windows. Check out patents on all the different types of blinds that have been invented before and try to spot their benefits and what it is that make them good ideas. And most importantly, try to find out what is wrong with them. What makes them bad ideas? These things that are wrong with them, these problems, are opportunities in themselves just waiting to be solved!
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